Sainsbury's saw sales inch higher over the Christmas period while receiving a Black Friday boost from its recently-acquired Argos brand.
Britain's second biggest supermarket reported a 0.1% increase in like-for-like sales for the 15 weeks to 7 January, while sales of wearable tech and mobile phones helped Argos to 4% growth.
Shares rose 6%.
The performance of the supermarket, which excludes fuel sales, was better than expected but paled in comparison to the 2.9% uptick posted a day earlier by rival Morrisons - its best in seven years.
Meanwhile, Lidl reported 10% growth over December though like discount rival Aldi - which said it saw total sales grow 15% in December - it did not publish like-for-like comparisons which would strip out the effect of rapid store expansion over the last year.
Lidl pointed to strong sales of prosecco and cut-price lobster.
Industry data suggests supermarkets have been enjoying their strongest growth for more than two years.
Sainsbury's overall group sales performance was lifted by strong Black Friday and Christmas trading from Argos - the brand it bought for £1.4bn in 2016, taking like-for-like growth to 1%.
But it warned that the slump in the pound since the Brexit vote - which has pushed import costs up and seen prices across the sector start to rise - and a tough market would continue to present a challenge.
Chief executive Mike Coupe said: "The market remains very competitive and the impact of the devaluation of sterling remains uncertain.
"However, we are well placed to navigate the external environment and remain focused on delivering our strategy."
Sainsbury's said it had a record Christmas week, with more than 30 million transactions at Sainsbury's and sales of over £1bn across the group, including strong growth for its supermarket online sales and convenience stores.
Industry figures this week showed supermarket prices were starting to rise again, but that follows more than two years of decline.
Sainsbury's said its customers paid 14% less for a basket of Christmas goods than they did in 2014, claiming its turkeys offered the best value on the market per weight.
But some chose to pay more for premium products, with sales of its Taste the Difference party food range up 50% year-on-year.
The group said Argos delivered strong growth with top sellers including Fitbit wristbands, iPad Mini tablets and Playstation 4 consoles.
It said the brand had a strong online performance over the Black Friday period, with 65% of sales taken via the web.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Exclusive: Israel lobby infiltrates UK student movement
Israel is influencing student, activist and parliamentary groups in the UK, offering financial and strategic assistance in order to gather support among young organisers and shape British politics, Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit reveals.
For six months, undercover reporter Robin (alias) infiltrated pro-Israeli groups working to counter the powerful and growing movement against the illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
He uncovered a close link between Shai Masot, whose business card described him as a senior political officer at the Israeli embassy in London, and a network of politicians, activists and analysts in Britain who are sympathetic to Israel.
The aggressive lobbying comes as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement swells, and as the opposition Labour Party is led by Jeremy Corbyn, a vocal supporter of Palestinian interests.
For six months, undercover reporter Robin (alias) infiltrated pro-Israeli groups working to counter the powerful and growing movement against the illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
He uncovered a close link between Shai Masot, whose business card described him as a senior political officer at the Israeli embassy in London, and a network of politicians, activists and analysts in Britain who are sympathetic to Israel.
The aggressive lobbying comes as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement swells, and as the opposition Labour Party is led by Jeremy Corbyn, a vocal supporter of Palestinian interests.
NHS crisis: 'Patients' lives being put at risk' say doctors
Labour and senior medics are turning up the heat on the embattled Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt - on A&E waiting times, NHS staff shortages and social care funding.
In the Commons, Labour will stage an all-day debate on a motion demanding a rescue plan for the NHS, including a commitment to a four-hour waiting time target in A&E.
And in a blistering letter to Theresa May, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) - representing 33,000 doctors - claims lives are being put at risk by the crisis in the NHS and social care.
The RCP says the NHS is "underfunded, under doctored and overstretched".
The twin onslaught comes as figures show three times as many patients (18,435) waited more than 12 hours on a trolley for a hospital bed last week because of a lack of beds as in the whole of January 2016.
The NHS Digital figures also showed the number of people over 70 waiting more than 12 hours in A&E had nearly trebled in two years adding to the pressure on the Government for a cash boost for social care.
An National Audit Office report reveals a serious shortage of GPs caused by shortfalls in training places, increased part-time working and early retirement.
The NAO's findings have prompted the British Medical Association to claim the Government's plans to extend patients' access to GP services are in "complete disarray".
On Tuesday, Mr Hunt repeatedly refused to answer questions from Sky's Beth Rigby after appearing to abandon the commitment to treat A&E patients within four hours.
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has written to Mr Hunt demanding assurances on the four-hour A&E target.
He said: "Our NHS is in crisis, with some patients having to wait for hours in overcrowded A&E departments or on trolleys in hospital corridors."
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Royal College of Physicians writes: "Our NHS is underfunded, under doctored and overstretched. The ambulances queuing outside emergency departments are a visual testament to the crisis in social care and the NHS.
"Our hospitals are over-full, with too few qualified staff, and our primary, community, social care and public health services are struggling or failing to cope.
"Patients are waiting longer on lists, on trolleys, in emergency departments and in their homes for the care they need."
The doctors said pressures in social care mean more people are being pushed into hospitals and they are trapped there for longer.
A Department of Health spokesperson told Sky News: "We know the NHS is facing increasing demand from an ageing population but this makes building a safer healthcare system more urgent, not less."
The Government has continued to insist the pressures on the NHS happen every winter.
Asked if ministers are considering an emergency cash injection for hospitals, the Prime Minister's spokeswoman said the Government was delivering on what the NHS had requested in its five-year plan.
"It is not unusual to see particular pressures on the NHS during a winter period," she said.
"Because of the action that the Government has been taking, we approached this winter period with over 1,600 more doctors and 3,000 more nurses than just a year ago."
But the National Audit Office says there may be 1,900 fewer GPs by 2020 than the 5,000 extra doctors planned to meet a Conservative election promise for weekend and evening access to GPs.
In the Commons, Labour will stage an all-day debate on a motion demanding a rescue plan for the NHS, including a commitment to a four-hour waiting time target in A&E.
And in a blistering letter to Theresa May, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) - representing 33,000 doctors - claims lives are being put at risk by the crisis in the NHS and social care.
The RCP says the NHS is "underfunded, under doctored and overstretched".
The twin onslaught comes as figures show three times as many patients (18,435) waited more than 12 hours on a trolley for a hospital bed last week because of a lack of beds as in the whole of January 2016.
The NHS Digital figures also showed the number of people over 70 waiting more than 12 hours in A&E had nearly trebled in two years adding to the pressure on the Government for a cash boost for social care.
An National Audit Office report reveals a serious shortage of GPs caused by shortfalls in training places, increased part-time working and early retirement.
The NAO's findings have prompted the British Medical Association to claim the Government's plans to extend patients' access to GP services are in "complete disarray".
On Tuesday, Mr Hunt repeatedly refused to answer questions from Sky's Beth Rigby after appearing to abandon the commitment to treat A&E patients within four hours.
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth has written to Mr Hunt demanding assurances on the four-hour A&E target.
He said: "Our NHS is in crisis, with some patients having to wait for hours in overcrowded A&E departments or on trolleys in hospital corridors."
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the Royal College of Physicians writes: "Our NHS is underfunded, under doctored and overstretched. The ambulances queuing outside emergency departments are a visual testament to the crisis in social care and the NHS.
"Our hospitals are over-full, with too few qualified staff, and our primary, community, social care and public health services are struggling or failing to cope.
"Patients are waiting longer on lists, on trolleys, in emergency departments and in their homes for the care they need."
The doctors said pressures in social care mean more people are being pushed into hospitals and they are trapped there for longer.
A Department of Health spokesperson told Sky News: "We know the NHS is facing increasing demand from an ageing population but this makes building a safer healthcare system more urgent, not less."
The Government has continued to insist the pressures on the NHS happen every winter.
Asked if ministers are considering an emergency cash injection for hospitals, the Prime Minister's spokeswoman said the Government was delivering on what the NHS had requested in its five-year plan.
"It is not unusual to see particular pressures on the NHS during a winter period," she said.
"Because of the action that the Government has been taking, we approached this winter period with over 1,600 more doctors and 3,000 more nurses than just a year ago."
But the National Audit Office says there may be 1,900 fewer GPs by 2020 than the 5,000 extra doctors planned to meet a Conservative election promise for weekend and evening access to GPs.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Obama's final speech: 'We rise or fall as one'
Barack Obama has addressed the US and the world for the final time as president, in an emotional speech that listed the landmark achievements of his presidency and stressed unity as nation.
Capping his eight years in the White House, Obama returned on Tuesday to his adoptive hometown of Chicago to recast his "Yes we can" campaign credo as "Yes we did".
He summarised his achievements from the Iran nuclear deal to reforming healthcare. Much of the speech was also dedicated to lifting up supporters shaken by President-elect Donald Trump's shock election.
Obama called on them to pick up the torch, fight for democracy and forge a new "social compact".
"For all our outward differences, we are all in this together," he said warning that partisanship, racism, and inequality all threatened democracy. "We rise or fall as one."
"All of us, regardless of party, should throw ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions."
The incoming Republican president has smashed conventions, vowed to efface Obama's legacy and hurled personal insults left and right, while in a virtually unprecedented move US intelligence has accused the Kremlin of seeking to tip the election in Trump's favour.
Democrats, cast into the political wilderness with the loss of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives plus a majority of statehouses, are struggling to regroup.
Obama painted the task ahead as a generational challenge.
"A faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might" he said, had allowed the United States to "resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression, and build a post-World War II order with other democracies".
In comments that resonate as Americans ponder whether Russia helped to put Trump in the White House, Obama said "that order is now being challenged.
"First by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam; more recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who see free markets, open democracies, and civil society itself as a threat to their power.
"The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. "
Message to supporters
Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane, reporting from the event in Chicago, said Obama asked his supporters to defend his legacy and reminded Americans that they were all on the same team.
"The message he gave in his speech was: Don’t give up. Every single person here says that they don’t want to see Trump as president. And more than that, they feel that he is unfit for presidency. The common feeling here is fear," she said.
"Obama’s legacy is on the line as Trump is likely to try to unwind all things done during Obama’s presidency. He needs all these people to get involved to defend his achievements."
Obama was joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, who the president described as "family" in an emotional finale to his speech.
Wiping a tear from his eye, Obama paid poignant tribute to his own family, his daughter Malia who was present and Sasha who was not, and the first lady who he addressed as his best friend.
Sky Views: Uber may not be around much longer
It's easy not to like Uber. The taxi app plays fast and loose with laws - most recently it tested self-driving cars on the streets on California, despite being banned from doing so, and one of them ran a red light.
A report last year from the UK Government also painted a fairly grim picture of its drivers' conditions. Uber executives have bullied and harassed reporters.
But I've come round, for a couple of reasons. This first was being able to play Spotify from the back seat. Although a word of warning: blasting Blink 182 at full volume will negatively affect your Uber rating.
Second, I feel a bit sorry for Uber, because I'm not sure it's going to be around much longer.
This might seem a touching concern for a company that is supposedly valued at $62.5bn. And one at the vanguard of self-driving technology, with autonomous vehicles on the streets of Pittsburgh and Phoenix.
Its CEO Travis Kalanick has said that he loves the idea of replacing Uber's human drivers with robots.
But that's precisely the problem.
Google says it has managed to bring the cost of driverless technology - including the expensive laser sensors - down 90%.
It clearly wants to license its technology to - or partner with - manufacturers. Just like Microsoft did with Windows, it wants its platform to be on every machine, without setting up production lines itself.
A report last year from the UK Government also painted a fairly grim picture of its drivers' conditions. Uber executives have bullied and harassed reporters.
But I've come round, for a couple of reasons. This first was being able to play Spotify from the back seat. Although a word of warning: blasting Blink 182 at full volume will negatively affect your Uber rating.
Second, I feel a bit sorry for Uber, because I'm not sure it's going to be around much longer.
This might seem a touching concern for a company that is supposedly valued at $62.5bn. And one at the vanguard of self-driving technology, with autonomous vehicles on the streets of Pittsburgh and Phoenix.
Its CEO Travis Kalanick has said that he loves the idea of replacing Uber's human drivers with robots.
But that's precisely the problem.
Google says it has managed to bring the cost of driverless technology - including the expensive laser sensors - down 90%.
It clearly wants to license its technology to - or partner with - manufacturers. Just like Microsoft did with Windows, it wants its platform to be on every machine, without setting up production lines itself.
Trump shown claims of Russian plot to compromise him
A classified report presented to Donald Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information on him, US officials have confirmed.
The dossier reportedly claims that Russia had obtained "kompromat" (compromising material) on the President-elect during a stay in a five-star hotel in Moscow - including recordings of graphic sexual acts.
It was also said to have included allegations of ongoing contact between associates of Mr Trump and intermediaries for the Kremlin.
Intelligence chiefs have reportedly been unable to verify the claims, but they were considered sufficiently serious to be included in a highly-classified report on alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election.
US officials have confirmed Mr Trump and President Obama received the two-page memo - believed to be a synopsis of more detailed reports compiled by a British former spy.
FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
The documents - apparently gleaned from sources in Russia and the US - claim the Russian regime has been "cultivating, supporting and assisting" Mr Trump for at least five years.
They suggest Vladimir Putin ordered his operatives to provide intelligence on Mr Trump's opponents, including Hillary Clinton, in return for information on US-based Russian oligarchs.
And sources in the unverified memos claimed Russian authorities had obtained enough embarrassing evidence of Mr Trump's conduct while staying in the country to be able to blackmail him if necessary.
The material - reportedly compiled for Democratic and Republican opponents of the President-elect - has circulated for months in the US but has now been published in full by BuzzFeed.
Last October the former spy behind the memos told US website Mother Jones he judged the information "sufficiently serious" to share with the FBI.
A spokesman for Harry Reid has said the former Senate Democratic leader saw the memos before writing a public letter to FBI Director James Comey about Trump's ties to Russia.
In the letter, he wrote: "It has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors, and the Russian government - a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States."
According to CNN, Senator John McCain - chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is investigating Russian hacking of the election - also gave a full copy of the memos to Mr Comey on 9 December.
Mr Trump's transition team has not commented directly on the claims, but as details emerged the President-elect tweeted: "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"
The Guardian reports that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials.
The court turned down the request, asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus.
Mr Comey refused to say whether the FBI was investigating allegations of links between Trump associates and the Kremlin when questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.
Mr Trump has consistently defied the consensus of 17 US intelligence agencies - playing down claims that Russia interfered with the election to help him win.
Last month he said: "It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things."
The dossier reportedly claims that Russia had obtained "kompromat" (compromising material) on the President-elect during a stay in a five-star hotel in Moscow - including recordings of graphic sexual acts.
It was also said to have included allegations of ongoing contact between associates of Mr Trump and intermediaries for the Kremlin.
Intelligence chiefs have reportedly been unable to verify the claims, but they were considered sufficiently serious to be included in a highly-classified report on alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election.
US officials have confirmed Mr Trump and President Obama received the two-page memo - believed to be a synopsis of more detailed reports compiled by a British former spy.
FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2017
The documents - apparently gleaned from sources in Russia and the US - claim the Russian regime has been "cultivating, supporting and assisting" Mr Trump for at least five years.
They suggest Vladimir Putin ordered his operatives to provide intelligence on Mr Trump's opponents, including Hillary Clinton, in return for information on US-based Russian oligarchs.
And sources in the unverified memos claimed Russian authorities had obtained enough embarrassing evidence of Mr Trump's conduct while staying in the country to be able to blackmail him if necessary.
The material - reportedly compiled for Democratic and Republican opponents of the President-elect - has circulated for months in the US but has now been published in full by BuzzFeed.
Last October the former spy behind the memos told US website Mother Jones he judged the information "sufficiently serious" to share with the FBI.
A spokesman for Harry Reid has said the former Senate Democratic leader saw the memos before writing a public letter to FBI Director James Comey about Trump's ties to Russia.
In the letter, he wrote: "It has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between Donald Trump, his top advisors, and the Russian government - a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States."
According to CNN, Senator John McCain - chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is investigating Russian hacking of the election - also gave a full copy of the memos to Mr Comey on 9 December.
Mr Trump's transition team has not commented directly on the claims, but as details emerged the President-elect tweeted: "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"
The Guardian reports that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials.
The court turned down the request, asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus.
Mr Comey refused to say whether the FBI was investigating allegations of links between Trump associates and the Kremlin when questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.
Mr Trump has consistently defied the consensus of 17 US intelligence agencies - playing down claims that Russia interfered with the election to help him win.
Last month he said: "It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things."
Spy chief 'would not put it past Russia to plant child porn on PCs'
The US's spy chief says he would not put it past Russia to plant child pornography on Americans' computers.
James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, was talking to a Senate committee hearing into Russian cyber attacks during the US election.
He was answering questions after earlier saying he was confident that Russia hacked Democratic Party emails and was still engaged in cyber operations.
The hearing panel, convened by the Senate Intelligence Committee, was told that the hacking conclusions had been based on "human sources, technical collection and open source information".
Mr Clapper said much of the intelligence community's report could not be revealed in order to protect sensitive sources and methods.
But, he added, Russia had tried to influence elections in a "couple of dozen" countries.
He was asked about other countries where elections are due to take place soon but said he could not say to what extent Germany, France and the Netherlands had increased their defences against cyber attacks.
He said he believed that the Russians had concluded that it was best to support then Republican candidate Donald Trump because he was a businessman and "he'd be easier to make deals with" than the Democrats.
He also said that he wouldn't "put it past" Russia to plant indecent images of children on the computers of American citizens.
FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee the Democratic National Committee denied "multiple requests" made by his agents to examine its hacked servers.
He said he had "no doubt" that Russian hackers accessed voter data from state election systems.
Mr Comey also said there were indications that Russian hackers had penetrated the Republican National Committee's computers, but did not get far as the hack was "limited" as the "old RNC" servers were "no longer in use".
The RNC and President-elect Trump have said the Russians did not attack the Republicans because they have strong cyber security.
There was no evidence that Mr Trump's campaign was successfully hacked, he added.
James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, was talking to a Senate committee hearing into Russian cyber attacks during the US election.
He was answering questions after earlier saying he was confident that Russia hacked Democratic Party emails and was still engaged in cyber operations.
The hearing panel, convened by the Senate Intelligence Committee, was told that the hacking conclusions had been based on "human sources, technical collection and open source information".
Mr Clapper said much of the intelligence community's report could not be revealed in order to protect sensitive sources and methods.
But, he added, Russia had tried to influence elections in a "couple of dozen" countries.
He was asked about other countries where elections are due to take place soon but said he could not say to what extent Germany, France and the Netherlands had increased their defences against cyber attacks.
He said he believed that the Russians had concluded that it was best to support then Republican candidate Donald Trump because he was a businessman and "he'd be easier to make deals with" than the Democrats.
He also said that he wouldn't "put it past" Russia to plant indecent images of children on the computers of American citizens.
FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee the Democratic National Committee denied "multiple requests" made by his agents to examine its hacked servers.
He said he had "no doubt" that Russian hackers accessed voter data from state election systems.
Mr Comey also said there were indications that Russian hackers had penetrated the Republican National Committee's computers, but did not get far as the hack was "limited" as the "old RNC" servers were "no longer in use".
The RNC and President-elect Trump have said the Russians did not attack the Republicans because they have strong cyber security.
There was no evidence that Mr Trump's campaign was successfully hacked, he added.
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